Being authentic requires us to change…
and change doesn’t come easily for any of us. In fact, it becomes more difficult with age. Decades of buried hurts and confusion have clouded our vision, damped our courage and our ability to be authentic. We no longer even know where to begin.
We must remind ourselves, however, that we have gained strength along the way. Strength and endurance are beneficial characteristics for digging deep.
When we begin the journey toward authenticity, it’s common to feel as though we’re groping in the dark. We have been temporarily blinded us to ourselves and to what we cannot bear to see or feel. Our subconscious muted it for our survival sake, so that we might continue to live the life we had in front of us. There comes a time to unearth that which has been hidden in order to reconnect with our true selves.
We must go beneath our facade, even when we don’t know what that looks like or how to go about it. All we know is that it’s time to find and bring forth our authentic selves, and to face all that we have buried and denied and abandoned about ourselves. It’s a primary task of aging.
For some the call is so loud we can’t hear ourselves think, until we stop and start paying attention. It’s time to turn around and face it, whatever “it” is. We must answer the call of our deeper selves. It is time.
“Be gentle with yourself for you are living through a major expansion of your faith and how you use it in the world. You are rewiring decades of old beliefs and shifting how you live your life. This is no small feat. It is OK to feel uncomfortable. Great change often brings with it discomfort and second guessing one’s self. Do not shrink back from this mission.” ~ From The Celtic Christian Tradition
This period of change is ushering in a new beginning, a new opportunity for a deeper, richer life, one that creates abundance of a different sort. A phase of deep reflection, of wrestling with our shadow self, of learning to once again let in the light, is a time that contains challenges like none we’ve faced before, an inner war perhaps, a straining toward our interior and away from externals. Being authentic requires work, contemplation, an openness to the teaching of others, and learning to listen to our inner world, to show up and be present to ourselves and all that lives within. Above all, we must learn to be still. Be silent. Be open to life itself. [tweetthis display_mode=”button_link”]Above all, we must learn to be still. Be silent. Be open to life itself.[/tweetthis]
EPIPHANY
Epiphany, is a word/concept that comes from the ancient Greek ἐπιφάνεια, epiphaneia, and refers to a sudden awareness, an awakening of understanding, a striking realization that one’s perception has changed and deepened. The Christian Season of Epiphany, where this word is most often heard, is observed on January 6th and commemorates the manifestation of Christ to the Magus. Epiphany, however, is a rich symbolic word that is open to a wide variety of interpretations. Religious scholars have spent countless hours researching the history, the changes in language and understanding in the context of the words use and still cannot come to any real agreement. As time goes on, the slope becomes slippery. Yet, that is the very nature of symbolic language.
Symbolism is a powerful tool for personal use when delving into spiritual matters. There is no other way to talk about, or describe, that which we know but cannot see. Language is often a stumbling block for conversation as we misinterpret one another simply because we assign a different meaning to a word. I have avoided talking here too much about spiritual matters precisely because the language is so fluid at this point in time. “I had an epiphany” is a statement that means very different things to different people.
In spite of these obstacles, it’s a subject that can’t be overlooked. It’s a subject that is close to my heart. Those who are on the path of personal growth often find themselves at some point along the way here, in the spiritual arena. One cannot get too far down the road of life without asking a few questions about the nature of life itself. The spiritual quest is a fundamental thread that has run through my life, a thread that I picked up in earnest a decade ago. I will begin talking more about such things here on Wisdom Wednesday. I hope you’ll join me. I hope you’ll share pieces of your journey and we’ll struggle together with the language issues. Understanding is all I’m after here, growing in faith and wisdom, coming out of the shadows and into awareness of expanded consciousness. I believe, regardless of the words we use, we are all talking about the same thing.
You may also want to join the conversation in my closed group on Facebook: Aging and the Inner Life
When you come to the edge of all that you know, you must believe one of two things: either there will be ground to stand on, or you will be given wings to fly. ~ O.R. Melling
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Oh, Dorothy, I just love this! Even with all the work I have done, when faced with a change, the uncomfortable feeling engendered can make me hyperventilate. Luckily, I do now have those spiritual/psychological tools, to do as you suggest: “Above all, we must learn to be still. Be silent. Be open to life itself.”
And therein lies one of the great secrets to life.
Thank you for this!
We learn that we can never escape the fear, but we can learn to ride it and become more resilient. An older friend told me the other day she finds that she more often feels fear than depression now that she’s older. I’ve thought about that and I think the same is true for me as well. I’m not sure whether that comes from experience or hormones! Either way, it creates it’s own challenges. Fear is a topic I suspect I will rumble with often here, (thank you Brene Brown for the word – I find I use it to be one of those symbolic words that works), as it is a challenge for me and I believe of epidemic proportions worldwide.
What a relief to have other persons admitting to all these feelings. Is with reluctance and much fear that I see time proceeding to, maybe, more difficult stages in life. Now, free of every day’s hassle and endless occupations, I find plenty of time which prompts my need to look deep into myself and try to understand who I really am. Of course, criticism and accusations by close others play a big part in my desire to understand and do my best to atone. Halas, this self – rediscovery is a shock to the system and demands honesty, maturity and courage to do it. Still, is a necessity if I want to be fair to myself and to all. Thank you, all for your sharing your inner thoughts and being an inspiration.
We are not alone, even though at times it feels that way. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I’m glad you stopped by and hope you will return soon.